Hi,
though not in any way technical, I've been using Mac since the earliest prototypes. I'm pretty sure I remember a time when it was possible to maintain two systems on the same drive and choose which one you were going to boot from. Maybe I'm wrong and it was a matter of partitioning.
I am now keeping alive (with upgraded RAM and SSDs) an old MacBook Air and iMac, running High Sierra — and an even older 2009 MacBook Pro, running El Capitan (the latest system which it is sanctioned to run).
I can use any of the three to work on my key projects, and I backup to TimeMachine and to clones.
The frustrating part is that, despite their containing near identical directories, folders and files, I can only boot from the clone that is bespoke for each computer — which makes more of a headache out of keeping my working files and settings up to date on each.
I just wondered, is there any way I could set up any of my external hard drives with two (or more) operating systems?
If need be, could I somehow use small partitions for the separate systems but have them refer to a single HD Data partition for the apps, system settings, and other things which the computers could have in common? That way, I could travel with one external hard drive, keep it up to date, and have the option to boot to another computer if anything went wrong.
I haven't thought this through carefully — let alone tried it out. I just wondered whether someone might already have similar experience and found an elegant solution.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Eric
though not in any way technical, I've been using Mac since the earliest prototypes. I'm pretty sure I remember a time when it was possible to maintain two systems on the same drive and choose which one you were going to boot from. Maybe I'm wrong and it was a matter of partitioning.
I am now keeping alive (with upgraded RAM and SSDs) an old MacBook Air and iMac, running High Sierra — and an even older 2009 MacBook Pro, running El Capitan (the latest system which it is sanctioned to run).
I can use any of the three to work on my key projects, and I backup to TimeMachine and to clones.
The frustrating part is that, despite their containing near identical directories, folders and files, I can only boot from the clone that is bespoke for each computer — which makes more of a headache out of keeping my working files and settings up to date on each.
I just wondered, is there any way I could set up any of my external hard drives with two (or more) operating systems?
If need be, could I somehow use small partitions for the separate systems but have them refer to a single HD Data partition for the apps, system settings, and other things which the computers could have in common? That way, I could travel with one external hard drive, keep it up to date, and have the option to boot to another computer if anything went wrong.
I haven't thought this through carefully — let alone tried it out. I just wondered whether someone might already have similar experience and found an elegant solution.
Thanks for your thoughts,
Eric
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